NWS Charleston Navy Base in Goose Creek, SC

Contact Information

Phone: (843) 764-7000

DSN: 794-7000

Naval Weapons Station Charleston is located around 40 kilometers away from the city with the same name, on the Cooper River. It is established in South Carolina, under the jurisdiction of the United States Navy. It is one of the warmest installations in the United States of America. One of its primary missions is to ensure a high quality of life for all the inhabitants, whether they are military troops, civilian families, students or particular contractors. The services and facilities on site can make every individual feel like home. There are close to 10,000 inhabitants. About 4,000 of them are actual military troops and more than 3,000 are family members. The others are reserve troops and civilian workers or contractors.

Mission

The initial objectives of NWS Charleston were to support the local submarine squadrons that were hosted on site, as well as providing enough room to store over 27 million tons conventional ordnance. The squadrons and units might have changed over the past decades, but the ordnance objective is still standing. These days, the facility is the only one on the continental part of the United States of America with fresh and unencumbered arcs for safety purposes.

Other than that, the installation is also more involved with the Department of Defense and acts as a training center with three different schools – one of the Border Patrol satellites and two units of the school for Nuclear Power Training.

Facilities

The housing office at NWS Charleston is user friendly and able to deal with any request. The students are automatically given a place to stay, while the deployed troops or their families may opt for lodges or housing opportunities. There are three schools on site. Two of them are elementary. There is also a support center for families, while the health care system is successfully represented by a childcare clinic and a general health care center.

Those who like shopping have nothing to worry about. They got a local exchange and a small mall. The recreational activities haven’t been forgotten either – auto hobbies, gyms, fitness clubs, swimming pools, parks and courts for tennis, golf, camping or riding.

Units

There are more permanent units and tenants deployed at NWS Charleston. The local schools are among the most important ones, since they attract hundreds of students every year. Some other units include SSC Atlantic, the 11-th unit of MMA (Mobile Mine Assembly), the 841-st Transportation Battalion, the Reserve Center with all of its buildings or the Charleston team of the Coast Guard.

History

NWS Charleston was established in 1941, just before the United States of America joined World War II. It was initially built as a depot, therefore this is exactly what it was used for throughout World War II. After the war ended, it adopted a standby position for more years, until 1952, when it was permanently reactivated and set up as a permanent installation. 1954 took the station through a round of improvements, both in size and facilities. It got its current name in 1965.